Pomagamy myśleć : kilka zasad

Abstract

The article expresses the claim that these days higher education no longer means communicating fixed sets of information, rather it refers to skills of creative formulation of knowledge and its application in the real world. An educated man does not have to “possess knowledge”; contrariwise, he/she has to know where to find it and how to shape it. Formulating knowledge means thinking: processing information in order to gain new, essential knowledge. Colleges and universities therefore have to define their roles, and move from the stage of “communicating knowledge” to educating how to think and thus to question what is already known. In practical terms, the function of thinking lies in solving problems – situations when fixed formulas and patterns are no longer valid and thus rendered ineffective. University graduates should be able to do research by means of problem solving and comprehension in a creative, innovative, effective, and most often social ways; in teams and groups, where academic atmosphere permeates processes of thinking. The paper shows how to evoke such atmosphere. A prerequisite for effective thinking lies in the reflection what thinking really involves; what constitutes an academic work, research methods, or its limitations and individual nature. The author suggests that students familiarize themselves with the concepts of the philosophy of science which take a critical view on the notion of knowledge itself. Works by Popper, Kuhn, Feyerabend and Rorty may serve as examples. Practical advice is given in the presentation of methods that facilitate thinking, especially those based on the following pattern: generating various ideas — their critical assessment — effective accomplishment of selected ideas.